Netflix sales jump thanks to streaming

Subscriber base increases to 11.1 million

Consumers are flocking to megaplexes, but they’re also staying home in droves to watch movies, especially those provided by Netflix.

The DVD-by-mail rental service added 510,000 subscribers during the last three months, a whopping 95% gain over the same quarter a year ago. It now has 11.1 million subs.

The addition helped the company report a 48% boost in profits during its third quarter, earning $30 million from $423 million in revenue, which was up 24%.

The numbers weren’t unexpected.

Rental revenue for the home entertainment biz grew nearly 9.9% in the three month period that ended Sept. 30, according to the Digital Entertainment Group, up from the 8.3% in the first half of the year.

Netflix has also been on a mission to increase subscriptions by promoting its online rental service that lets users digitally view movies through their TVs using their TiVos, Microsoft’s Xbox Live and Blu-ray players.

Given its recent performance, Netflix now anticipates having up to 12.3 million subs by the end of the year.